Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus, asks:
"If a man has a hundred sheep and one
of them goes astray, will he not leave
the ninety-nine in the hills and go in
search of the stray?" Well, of course
not! No self-respecting shepherd would
ever think of doing that. If you were a
shepherd, you’d cut your losses. That
sheep is probably dead anyway if it
wandered far enough away.
But we are to understand that God is like
that foolish shepherd. God’s love throws
caution to the wind to seek out the lost
sheep. We might expect God to be good
to those who are good, and kind to those
who follow his commandments. Those who
don’t, who wander away, are simply lost.
God might give them a few minutes, but
then they’re on their own.
No; God is like this kooky shepherd. God
loves irrationally, exuberantly risking it
all in order to find the one who wandered
away. What good news: God does not love
according to a strict justice on our
terms, but loves in his own extravagant way.
Reflect: Meditate on a time when you
were the one lost sheep and received the
extravagant, irrational love of God.
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